BlogElul Day 2: Seek

On of the great joys of the Technically Religious podcast – and by extension the community we’ve created – is discovering when these two important areas of our lives: our (sometimes all-consuming) work as IT practitioners; and our (sometimes neglected) religious, moral, or ethical point of view coincide. Where lessons from one area seamlessly translate to the other. In those moments we are truly able to bring our whole selves to the fore and recognized that we do these things – the technical and the religious – because they resonate equally with who we are at our core.

One example of this is the act of seeking, and specifically seeking answers.

In IT we are not only rewarded for having the right answer, but we are often hired NOT for what we already know, but for our willingness and even eagerness to find out. Our pursuit of improving our craft drives us to dig deep into manuals, FAQs, and how-tos; to seek out teachers and mentors; to learn entirely new languages; and to gather together both locally, nationally, and even internationally to share what we’ve learned with others.

In religion, too, our desire to seek out answers to questions, whether they be common or cosmic, causes us to dig deeper into the foundational texts of our tradition; to seek out teachers and mentors; to learn entirely new languages; and… well, you get the idea.

The thing I love about “seek” is that it is the more active form of “see”. When we see something, it is happening and we are merely present to witness it. But when we seek we take the active role. In order to see, we must first travel from the comfortable place where we are, uncover what may be obscured, and take hold of what we find so we can examine it in greater detail.

And in doing so, we not only gain the knowledge we sought, but we find the opportunity to both elevate and be elevated.